Nil Desperandum
by Erichka
Summary: Our favorite water mage finds herself in a brand new world, and chaos will ensue. But will Juvia and her friends defeat their new enemy or cower in fear?
1. Don't trust old people

"Juvia does not like this. No, Juvia does not." Her hands wrapping themselves around her lithe body, the little human slowly took shaky steps towards her destination, her resolve weakening and breaking with each new step. Desperately clenching her forearms trying to shield her naked body from cold air and rain, she slowly tried to reach better lighted street, hoping that might someone, anyone, could help her. This land was unfamiliar to her, and with every new glance to the world around her, she found herself mesmerized.

Everything was different, from the way people walked and clothed themselves, to cars so lavish she'd claim only a noble would have enough money to buy them. She honestly wondered whether she was alone in this new world, had someone transported her on purpose, since she posed a threat to them? Still, she was scared of the possibility. If she was all alone, then there would be no one of her friends to help her, and Juvia knew she wouldn't have gotten as far without them. But if she wasn't… there was a possibility there were enemy mages as well, and as useful her water powers were, she doubted she could defeat them alone.

She took a shuddering breath as a car went past her, and splattered her with water in the meantime. No, this was not good. First, she'd need to find something to wear, something clean and warm would be welcome. The last thing she needed was to get sick, and by the looks of things, she didn't have any money on her. She cursed.

That meant she'd have to steal clothes, and the thought did not sit well with her, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Goosebumps all over her pale body, hands trying to hide her naked frame and hair stuck to her face, she wandered in the dark, trying to remember when she last time ate, when she was okay with a little rain, how she ended up like this… No matter how much she pleaded, questioned and screamed the only answers she received were those of stray dogs, barking at her, maybe because she was yelling at night, maybe because she was on their territory or maybe because they simply didn't like her. She was never really good with animals.

She was all alone in a dark alley, not a single soul to hear her, to help her.

Unable to even keep her head up she reached the main street, full of light, full of hope.

"Are you alright, my dear? You seem cold. Did someone mug you?" she jumped at the sound and when she turned, she was surprised to find an old lady smiling up at her. "You're lucky, I'm just returning from a trip to the mall, so I can give you some clothes." she grinned politely, raising the bags in her hands as if to prove her statement.

Juvia sighed in relief when she figured she wouldn't have to steal something, glad for the lady's kind offer. "Y-yes, two men did, I was so scared." She forced herself to sound lost and afraid, which did not require much, thanks to her current predicament.

The old lady shook her head sadly. "Youth these days is truly scaring me, mugging an adorable little girl like you. I think it would be best if you changed right now, we can go to that alley on your left, I think no one lives there anyway."

"Yes, thank you." Juvia replied letting the old woman lead the way as she took the two bags from her hands in order to thank her.

For an old woman, she sure is fast. Juvia thought in wonder as she followed her into the dark little alley. Had the woman been a man, she would've been slightly alarmed, but time was on her side today, and her water powers would protect her from any harm that would befall her.

It took them only two minutes to get to their destination, and just when she dropped the two bags, the old woman sent her a creepy grin that made her shudder.

Before she could ask the woman what was wrong, tentacles extended from her lower back and impaling poor girl. Juvia cried out in pain as she extended her right arm, trying to form some sort of a water bubble over the "kind" old woman's head. But nothing happened. She was still pinned up against a wall, one of the tentacles going right through her left arm, and one through her right foot, causing her to scream in pain again. Tears formed in corner of her eyes, even though she was trying so hard not to show her emotions. Shit, this hurt so much.

"Don't they just taste better when they suffer a bit first?" Grandma mused, her eyes gleamed at the blood that flooded out of Juvia's body, a small, nevertheless bloodthirsty smile never leaving her face. Tentacles twisted in Juvia's extremities, trying to plead out another scream out of her, but all that was heard was a muffled groan.

"My, my, what a disobedient child." The grin fell off the woman's face and her eyes looked curiously at Juvia, searching her face. But the woman only found tightly shut eyes and bloodied teeth sinking in the pale lower lip, creating a shallow wound. Creating a frown on her features, the mysterious woman twisted her tentacles once more, trying to tease out another scream, but the only answer she got from the girl was another muffled groan.

The old woman growled in frustration. Who'd think the girl would have so much fight in her, still, she did not let that spoil the mood. She'd still eat the girl, after months of starving. It didn't matter if she screamed her heart out, or just stoically watched her in quiet defiance, she'd still taste good, good as any human flesh and satisfy her hunger. If she managed to hold back for just a little while tonight, the girl would serve as a meal for days, and the woman did not remember the last time she'd had that privilege.

"Oh well, you put up a good fight. For a human." Juvia opened her eyes when she heard the chuckles, her vision blurry and unstable. That's why she couldn't believe what she saw in front of her, praying that her mind was playing tricks on her. She might've been prepared to see the devil itself standing in front of her, she might've even expected to even see a snowman attacking her with carrots, but she did not expect to see those terrifying eyes, staring at her and killing any intention of fighting she had left. The odd, black eyes with red pupils kept staring at her face, her eyes, her lips, her soul. And then they closed just to exchange for a sensation of a sharp object cutting her flesh, teeth sinking into her cold shoulder.

"Oh, you taste surprisingly nice." Mouth soaked with blood moved again, not giving the victim time to say anything back, time to run away or scream, taking another piece of the soft, tasty flesh. But instead of the same pain she experienced, Juvia felt tentacles pulling out of her extremities, and the breath that reeked of blood, her own blood, pulled away from her shoulder with such speed she barely realised what happened.

Finally free from ghoul's grasp, Juvia tried to keep herself on her legs. Vision blurry, and just barely managing to keep standing, she looked quite pitiful, not a hint of the proud fairy tail member she was just a couple of hours ago. But it didn't mean she would just wait to be eaten, no. Every inch of her body told her to run, to run away, while she still had a chance. That's exactly what would any normal person do. That is exactly what she should do.

Wounded girl raised her hands, trying to send water to her offender, trying to use her water magic, not caring where she would hit, or whom she would hit. Not a single drop of water was heard while she waited though. And the she closed her eyes, clearing her vision and steadying her reeling mind, preparing to try she heard was not water, but sounds that were so familiar to her. Sounds of a battle.

And the blue-haired girl opened her eyes, getting a glimpse of a woman that had short hair so she could be easily mistaken for a boy. But that was not why she was special, no, she had something on her back that resembled the tentacles of her attacker so much. And yet, it was so different.

"Is she an angel?" The girl whispered as she fell on her knees, unable to even stand on her own, her head dropping low.

"No, but she could be." A gentle hand on Juvia's shoulder made her aware that another person was there. She couldn't open her eyes anymore, and just let herself fall towards the cold street. But she wasn't hugged by a cold street. She was hugged by a warm person, keeping Juvia from her fall. Was that another enemy? Should she fight back or try to run away? Or should she just wait her certain death? Wounded girl tried opening her eyes for once more but her vision blurred again, and she closed her eyes for a second just to open them again the next moment. She focused on deep, steadying breaths and her vision cleared, but just for a moment. And she saw hair black like the night surrounding them. That was the last thing she saw as her consciousness faded away.

 **Special thanks to my beloved The Demon Prosecutor that helped me so much with the story! I wouldn't know what would I do without your help, you did quite a bit helping me make this better. Thank you so much!**  
 **It would mean so much to me if you read the story and review it, point out mistakes and tell me which part you didn't like so I can correct it and get better c:**


	2. Chapter 2

"She is human! You can't allow her to stay here!"

Through hear near-drunken haze, Juvia could hear a muffled multitude of voices through the tightly closed door, as if no one cared if the newcomer would be woken up. She tried to open her eyes, but regretted it immediately as dizziness almost blinded her, forcing her to press her head even further into the pillow. It felt like ages since she'd been warm, even though that old grandmother had attacked her only yesterday. She gasped as she struggled to move her stiff, aching bones. With shaky hands, she touched her shoulder and carefully examined the flesh. She swallowed the bile in her throat as she noticed how uneven her shoulder was. Juvia, thankfully, felt no pain as she lay there, feeling as if someone had detached her mind from her body.

"Look, I know you like humans, but what are the chances of her surviving? We're better off without her, Yomo should drop her off somewhere before she wakes up."

Juvia's pounding headache had returned, and she couldn't help but shut her eyes, praying that it would go away. With unsteady effort she attempted to concentrate on the voices that lurked behind the door.

"Touka, she is staying here, at least until she wakes up. We would be no different from the others if we left her there to die."

They spoke of her as a lost puppy, or even an enemy. Not knowing who she was, where she came from or what she felt, they let her stay in their home, even though she could harm them. A small smile formed on Juvia's lips as she felt warm tears fall down her pale cheeks. No, they could come in any minute, and she would not let strangers see her tears. She was too prideful to allow such a thing. She raised her shaky hand to wipe off her tears but her shoulder protested. It stung her when she tried to move it and she let out a soft whimper of pain.

Silence fell on the other side of the door; it seemed that Juvia's voice was loud enough for them to hear, and they did not waste a second. Footsteps replaced the angry voices and she could hear them hurrying closer and closer to the room she was in. The door creaked, letting more light into the dim-lighted room. Juvia could barely hear their light footsteps on the carpet, but the sound suddenly faded out of existence.

Cracking one eye open, peering around the room, just to see unfamiliar people studying her, and her stomach painfully tied up in knots.

"Are you okay?"

The girl's gaze fell on the skinny boy, gentle smile on his lips; he seemed honestly concerned about her. Yet she could not think of an answer to his question. Was she alright? Laying there, in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, surrounded by unfamiliar people? Her thoughts were slow and hazy, and she stared dully at the strangers.

The mysterious boy's smile faded slowly as she withheld her reply, simply staring at him with those dead eyes, disoriented and drugged with pain killers.

"Where.. is Juvia?" A soft voice punctuated the silence, leaving the foreign faces without an answer. Juvia gazed at the strangers, attempting to find a recognizable face in that strange room.

She failed. "Anteiku." Juvia warily eyed the speaker, surprised to find an old man smiling comfortably at her. However, the victim's insecure and confused stare was more than enough to tell the staff of Anteiku that she had no idea where she was.

"Tokyo; 20th ward." The skinny boy offered Juvia a sympathetic smile; his eyepatch shocked her a little, but she focused on his words. Was there any city named Tokyo in her country? How did she end up there? Her piercing blue eyes questioned the boy silently, making him uncomfortably under her gaze.

"This is ridiculous." Turning her focus on the other person that uttered those words, she found that she was also unfamiliar to her, like everything else. Juvia turned to the one who had spoken: a short, irritated girl whose frown deepened under Juvia's questioning gawk. Then the girl, who looked like she had unresolved anger issues, turned her back to the wounded young woman in the bed. And then she left, exited the room without even taking a glance at her again. Okay, this was definitely not what Juvia ever expected to happen.

"What is your name, miss?" The old man spoke again, breaking the silence and drawing Juvia's attention to him again. He wanted to know her name, maybe that way he would figure out that she was from Magnolia, maybe that way any of them would find out how to return Juvia to her family.

"Juvia.. Juvia Lockser." The girl revealed, her voice shaky and hoarse, full of expectations that she couldn't hide well.

"Juvia, we shall let you rest a bit, you are wounded after all. I think that you will agree if I say that this is enough excitement for all of us, for now." Blunette on the bed still couldn't comprehend what was going on, how should she react on all of this, how should she speak to them..? She forced a meek smile on her lips, nodding to the old man's statement even though she knew that her pulsing headache will come back from that simple movement.

"Kaneki, let's go." They withdrew out of the room, leaving Juvia alone once more. Her head sank back in the pillow; her thoughts were half-formed and vague, impossible to understand, but they were still there, tormenting her slowly, not going away. Her eyes were closed as she begged for sleep to come.

 **Thanks so much to The Demon Prosecutor that inspired me for writing this chapter, I wouldn't have done it this nicely without you.**

 **And thanks so much to CassandraPaige394 who pretty much beta-ed this chapter! It wouldn't be the same without you.**

 **And thanks to all of the readers that favorited, followed and reviewed this story, it kept me motivated.**


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